The Portland Trail Blazers' hot start to the 2025-26 season has officially cooled off. They are now 6-7 on the season following a disappointing road stretch in which they went 1-4, with their lone win coming over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Blazers are now back home and will look to right the ship with two winnable games against the Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls. While their road stretch didn't go as planned, there were still positive takeaways in terms of momentum they'll look to carry throughout the remainder of the season. At the top of that list is Shaedon Sharpe's Year 4 breakout.
Shaedon Sharpe is turning a corner for Portland
Sharpe has now played seven games in November, averaging 26.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 steals on 50/28/75 shooting splits during that stretch. That's been a substantial increase from his conerningly slow start to the season, averaging 17.3 points on an inefficient 35% shooting from the field in six October games.
He's starting to look more like the player the Blazers hyped up this offseason as the one standout performer in training camp. Donovan Clingan even referred to him as "training camp Shae" following his 35-point performance in their win over New Orleans.
Sharpe has scored 30-plus points in three of Portland's last four games, utilizing his elite athleticism to attack off the dribble and get inside the paint, where he's among the best finishing guards in the league.
He's also quietly improved on the defensive end, with the sixth-best defensive rating (117.4) on Portland's roster this season.
Sharpe hasn't been perfect by any means and still needs to fix his three-point shooting in particular. Still, he's proving to be a unique talent as a shooting guard who doesn't necessarily need to be able to shoot in order to impact winning.
If his three-level scoring ever does come around, his four-year, $90 million extension is going to become an absolute steal for Portland. But even now, it's refreshing to see Sharpe justify the Blazers' investment as he figures out how to become a more complete player.
He's quietly emerging as Portland's secondary offensive weapon behind Deni Avdija, which was the case down the stretch of last season. That was anticipated this year, especially following the Anfernee Simons-Jrue Holiday swap with the Boston Celtics. It didn't go according to plan to start the season, but Sharpe is finally getting healthy. As a result, he's becoming the player Blazers fans have always envisioned.
While their blowout loss to the Houston Rockets and nail-biting losses to the Orlando Magic and Pelicans certainly sting, it's important to keep sight of the big picture. The Blazers are still a rebuilding team prioritizing their long-term outlook. And in the scheme of things, the breakout Sharpe is having is far more important than a brutal road stretch.